diff --git a/playbooks/groups/darkserver-backend.yml b/playbooks/groups/darkserver-backend.yml
index 6808b97dae..c90249c255 100644
--- a/playbooks/groups/darkserver-backend.yml
+++ b/playbooks/groups/darkserver-backend.yml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@
    - /srv/web/infra/ansible/vars/{{ ansible_distribution }}.yml
 
   roles:
+  - fedmsg/base
   - fedmsg/hub
   - rabbitmq
   - darkserver/backend